We've talked before about Peach's movie theater venture in Ottawa, and how it's presumed to be the oldest operating theater in America and possibly the world. She's been working hard on the latest incarnation of the business-- the Plaza Movie Memorabilia Museum.

The grand opening of the new museum is Thursday, May 15, at 7 p.m. The exhibit includes a collection of props from movies like King Kong, Hunger Games, Three Musketeers and more.

Lawrence's resident movie star Keith Loneker has also loaned some items to the museum, and he'll be at the opening event.

There's a limited number of tickets available, so get yours now! Call the Plaza at 785.242.5555 to reserve your spot.

We're excited to check out the new museum! The Plaza is really a cool old movie theater, the kind you don't see around much anymore. Sandbar friends have had many great times there, including our Rocky Horror Picture Show bus trips at Halloween and a "staff retreat" when we all carpooled down there one afternoon to watch a movie (and someone got a speeding ticket).

She discovered evidence that the Plaza Grill and Cinema might be the oldest continuous-operating theater in the world, and in true Peach fashion, came up with a grand idea: to create an interactive historical experience for all to enjoy the magic of cinema.

The Kickstarter campaign to raise money to fund the project didn't meet its goal, but that's certainly not stopping the project.

I have been seriously bad about keeping this blog up. Once upon a time, there were four or five new posts each week. When I logged in to write this, I realized there were three posts for the entire month of September. Believe me, there's more going on at the Sandbar than that; I'm just not there to see it these days.

But, here's something awesome for you.

If you've followed the Sandbar for any length of time-- or if you really know the owners like you insist to the doorguy-- then you know Peach, our founder, also owns the Plaza Grill & Cinema, a movie theater slash bar and grill down the road in Ottawa.

But did you know this: she recently uncovered evidence of the theater showing movies all the way back in 1905, making it a candidate for the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest operating theater in America.

And now, there's a plan to convert the theater into an interactive historical experience so that people can enjoy the magic of the cinema in the middle of America.

How can you help? Well, there's a Kickstarter project taking place right now. If you're not familiar with Kickstarter, it's a crowdsourced funding platform that brings project creators together with backers to make things happen.

You can donate as little as a buck or as much as you want to this project-- but unless the project is fully funded, you won't spend a dime.

The goal of this project is to raise $45,000. The project has three stages that are described here, and it will add jobs as well as economic growth to the community of Ottawa.

What are you waiting for?! Go check it out here, and make a donation if you can.

The
Sandbar, a downtown beach bar, has been a staple on the Lawrence bar scene
since 1989. A little over a decade ago, Sandbar founder Peach started dabbling
with the idea of expansion.

“The
subs story started when I found out that most downtowns would not allow a bar
to go in without food sales,” she said. Overland Park and other similar
towns—including Lawrence-- have zoning
regulations to prevent the same type business.

Longtime
bartender and manager David Johanning agreed to take over the responsibility of
the Lawrence bar while Peach explored expansion options. This was during
the time the Legends shopping center in nearby Kansas City was under
construction. “We were asked to
participate in the original Legends plan,” Peach said, “but realized we were
not experienced enough at that time to handle such volume.”

The
small town of Ottawa, close to home, was a great place to test ideas and
concepts. Peach opened a second Sandbar location that was a restaurant and
bar (click here to read more stories about the Ottawa adventures) and enjoyed
it, but she knew it wasn't quite the right match.

During
this time, the Madls became friends with the Zaremba family of Zarco66. The
Zarembas had just bought a store in Ottawa, and Scott and his family often came
into the restaurant on wing night.

A
downtown Ottawa sub shop without table service was the next effort, and boy it
worked. It was great fun, Scott came down and enjoyed the food and a
partnership was born. We now have three Sandbar Sub Shops inside Zarco66
convenience stores in Lawrence and Ottawa.

The
Sandbar Subs World Headquarters is slated to open in August, right across the
street from the original Sandbar, along with a new location of Peoples Bank.

Now
how did the relationship with Peoples Bank happen? Peach explains, “Well, back
in the old days, banks would sometimes be ‘not nice.’ My husband and I had the
opportunity to buy the building the original Sandbar bar was in. However, I was
rejected by a bank my accountant referred me to-- because ‘you receive the
majority of your income from the sale of alcohol and we are a family owned
bank.’”

Their
regular bank wouldn’t loan money for properties outside of Baldwin City. So one
day Ted said, “Hey, I have a cousin who’s a banker, let me call her!”

“That's
when I met Maley Wilkins of Peoples Bank, and she took great care of us.”

Another
connection to Peoples Bank comes by way of the Winter family, who are
well-known around the Lawrence area.

“When
we first got the Crystal Plaza Theater in 2005, it was struggling, “ Peach
said. Peoples Bank kept sponsoring events and coming by and supporting us in
many ways in Ottawa. The late Wint Winter, Sr., who was chairman of Peoples
Inc., was a wonderful man and he is honored at the Plaza Grill and Cinema with
a picture on the Wall of LOCAL Stars in the lobby.

As
for the new Sandbar Subs World Headquarters/Peoples Bank adventure in downtown
Lawrence?

Peach
says it came about when Scott and Maley spent time talking instead of listening
to speakers at a Chamber event and came up with this wonderful plan.

“And
Ted and I said ‘we're in!’” said Peach.

Usually, this is where they say the rest is
history, but in this case, the next chapter is just beginning.

Be sure to join us on August 10 for the big block party bash! Click here for more info.

You may or may not know that our founder, Peach, also operates the Plaza Grill and Cinema in Ottawa. It's an old, historic movie theater in the downtown district that she has renovated over the past few years, and now in addition to showing movies, it's also a bar and grill. Not unlike the Alamo Drafthouse.

Anyway, the Plaza Grill has a special event coming up: a live comedy show.

You're invited to join us on Friday, October 5 for the show featuring the Fryman and Chris Smith.

The Fryman is a twenty year veteran of the stage, as well as a national recording artist with Laughing Hyena Records. He has appeared on NBC and he is also one of the only white guys to appear on BET's Comicview. He has also done three military comedy tours overseas for our troops and can be heard regularly on Sirius/XM satellite radio. He's also a former marine who originally hails from Keflavik Iceland, but now chills in St Louis. He has performed in over 40 states and more than 250 cities and towns in the United States.

Feature act Chris Smith also hails from St. Louis. With an intelligent delivery and thoughtful material, this comedian is always entertaining and never offensive. Adept at reading a crowd, he always finds the right material for the right situation.

Tickets are just $10. A bar and full menu will be available for the event.

Tickets are available at the Plaza Grill and Cinema in downtown Ottawa, or you can call 785.242.5555 to purchase tickets over the phone.

Sandbar founder Peach bought the historic movie theater in Ottawa several years ago and has renovated it. Today, the theater has two big screens and also houses a restaurant.

Every Monday is dinner and a movie night. For only $9.99, you can enjoy dinner from the extensive menu as well as a movie. There are daily matinees for just $5.75 per ticket before 7 p.m., and on Tuesdays you can get matinee pricing all day. Senior citizens can enjoy $5 movie tickets all day on Wednesdays. You can also rent out the theater for parties or other events. Click here for movie specials.

For those of you looking for a great date night, check out the Prime Rib Fridays. For $15 per person, you can enjoy a prime rib dinner and a movie.

If you don't have time for a movie, you can still stop by for something to eat. The grill is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, noon-11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon-9 p.m. on Sunday. Click here to see the menu. Catering options are also available.

Ottawa is a great little town and it's a short drive. Try something new and check out Peach's theater! This is where we go every Halloween for our Rocky Horror Picture Show extravaganza. Maybe one of these days we'll put together a bus trip for dinner and a movie?

On Friday night the Sandbar hosted our third annual Rocky Horror Picture Show party bus extravaganza. We filled a school bus with fun people from the Sandbar, picked up more fun party people in Baldwin and headed for Ottawa.

Our first stop after we picked up a few people at the Lodge in Baldwin City was Dunn's Landing, a working farm outside of Baldwin. Our friends Robin and Kirsten decorated their barn with festive Halloween decor and treated all of us to chili. When everyone was finished eating, we loaded back up on the bus and traveled to Ottawa for the main event.

The party crew outside the barn at Dunn's Landing

The Crystal Plaza Theater in Ottawa has undergone a makeover. Owners Peach, Ted, Teddy and Amelia have added a kitchen and grill, and the lobby area features a small dining area along with a counter and bar stools in the concession area. There's a full menu of appetizers, sandwiches and burgers; and we were particularly amused with the "Happy Endings" section of the menu. It features desserts, silly.

We watched Rocky Horror in the smaller theater, where some of the theater seating was removed to make way for several tables and chairs so patrons can enjoy food while watching the movie.

If you've never been to RHPS, you need to go. It's not the movie itself that is so much fun, but the entire event, especially with the Sandbar crew. And particularly Movie Dave and Scotty Mac, who thoroughly entertained the crowd with their dialogue.

The party crew in the lobby of the Ottawa Crystal Plaza movie theater

After the movie, we loaded back up on the bus and headed home. Many thanks to our awesome bus driver, Jimmy Lee Rose. Anyone who can put up with our group is a rock star! We'll be sure to request him as our driver next time we rent a bus.